American Kestrel Partnership Quarterly: Spring 2017
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American Kestrels are breeding across North America and partners all over are monitoring boxes, entering their data, and sharing their awesome photos with us! If you have installed a nest box, please be sure you monitor and send us your data. You can find monitoring instructions and data entry sheets on our website.
Today, we announce our 2017 AKP Fundraiser, bring you updates on our KestrelCam (spoiler alert: nestlings hatched!), share news of recently published research, and invite you to submit photos of kestrels for use in The Peregrine Fund's 2018 calendar!
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2017 AKP Fundraiser
Purchase tees, totes, and mugs for Kestrels! Check out our lovely 2017 AKP Design! Last year, you helped us raise $21,000 for the American Kestrel Partnership. Help us top that this year by purchasing and/or spreading the word! Get your 2017 AKP swag today!
Miss out on the 2016 AKP T?? We relaunched for a limited time, so get yours here!
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Check out our short promo video! We had lots of fun making this one! Thanks to Rob Palmer and Peter Green for permission to use photos.
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Bosch KestrelCam Update: Welcome Nestlings!
Late last week and over the weekend, we welcomed four nestlings to our Bosch KestrelCam nest box! Now the real fun begins as mom and dad raise this feisty crew! In the course of just a month, these nestlings will grow from the size of kumquats to fully feathered fledglings! Check out the adorable hatching highlights video below and tune in to watch it all unfold in real time! Join LIVE CHAT with a kestrel expert each Tuesday and Thursday at noon (mountain time)!
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Check out this adorable hatching highlights video! Thanks to our sponsors Bosch Security Systems, Boise State University's Intermountain Bird Observatory, Idaho Fish and Game (IDFG), Idaho Department of Tourism, and the Boise Visitor and Convention Bureau for giving us all the opportunity to tune in!
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The Power and Peril of Nest Boxes
Scientists often use artificial breeding sites such as nest boxes, bat houses, and human-made burrows to study and manage animals including bats, insects, lizards, fish, and birds. AKP Director, Dr. Chris McClure, and colleagues at Boise State University's Raptor Research Center recently published a study in the journal Ecological Applications entitled “Simulations reveal the power and peril of artificial breeding sites for monitoring and managing animals.” Authors warn that the addition of human-made nest sites to an ecosystem might not always benefit populations or help researchers to monitor species such as the American Kestrel who regularly use nest boxes. A few nuggets from this study highlight the importance of responsible nest box placement (avoiding loud and busy roads, for example), consistent monitoring each breeding season using a protocol shared by others across the continent, and sharing your data with scientists who are working to understand why American Kestrels are declining across the continent. This study highlights the important work of our partners who monitor nest boxes across North America! READ MORE.
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Submit Your Photos of American Kestrels to Our Photo Contest
Have you been saving an incredible photo of an American Kestrel for just the right opportunity? This is it! Help us conserve raptors and enter to win prizes like Vortex high-end binoculars or up to $500 cash. The January photo for The Peregrine Fund's 2018 calendar will feature an American Kestrel! If your American Kestrel photograph is selected from the Raptors at Risk Photo Exhibition, we'll send you 10 calendars plus an American Kestrel Partnership hat and T-shirt! See contest details and enter photos here by June 11! Winners announced July 7.
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